Testing for nonlinearity in high-dimensional time series from continuous dynamics

We address the issue of testing for nonlinearity in time series from continuous dynamics and propose a quantitative measure for nonlinearity which is based on discrete parametric modelling. The well-known problems of modelling continuous dynamical systems by discrete models are addressed by a subsampling approach. This measure should preferably be combined with conventional surrogate data testing. The performance of the test is demonstrated by application to simulated, heavily noise-contaminated time series from high-dimensional Lorenz systems, and to experimental time series from a high-dimensional mode of Taylor–Couette flow. We also discuss the discrimination power of the test under surrogate data testing, when compared with other well-tried test statistics.